The bus operated by Mi Joo Tour and Travel Ltd., of Vancouver, B.C., slid in icy conditions, crashed through a guard rail and plunged down a hill, killing nine and injuring 38 on Dec. 30, 2012.
(Oregon State Police)

Nine people died and 38
were injured when the tour bus, headed to Vancouver, B.C., after a trip to the
Los Angeles area, slid across Interstate 84 in icy and snowy conditions,
crashed through a guard rail and plunged down an embankment east of Pendleton.

The suit seeks damages for
the estates of two victims – Youmin, Kim, an 11-year-old girl and Seokmin Moon,
a 55-year-old man – and 10 survivors from South Korea, Taiwan and
Japan.

"The injuries were awful, from horrible
lacerations and broken bones to amputations," said Scott Parks, who's
representing the plaintiffs. "Some were in the bus and some were under it. The
bodies of Miss Kim and Mr. Moon were found on the side of the hill."

Parks said some of his clients have tried to
resume their lives but others cannot because of injuries. Half of the survivors
listed in the lawsuit live in South Korea, the others are in Vancouver, B.C.

All of them are having trouble dealing with the
approaching anniversary on Monday, Parks said.

Parks filed the lawsuit this week to fall within the
one-year notice requirement involving a wrongful death claim against a
government entity.

The suit accuses the bus operator, Mi Joo Tour
& Travel Ltd., of Vancouver, B.C., and the driver, Haeng-Kyu Hwang, of
negligence for a number of reasons, including speeding, ignoring warning signs
and failing to take a safer route. It says Hwang was tired after driving
excessive periods of time.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration,
which has barred the tour company from operating in the United States, said the
driver violated the U.S. limit of working a maximum of 70 hours in eight days.
Public records obtained by The Oregonian found that the company, which has also
been barred from operating in Canada, had a history of safety violations.

The suit accuses ODOT and the state of Oregon of negligence
in not erecting sufficiently strong barriers along the stretch of the road,
known as Deadman's Pass; failing to sufficiently clean, sand and plow the
highway; failing to warn drivers of the unsafe and conditions; and failing to
require commercial vehicles to take an alternate route.

Don Hamilton, spokesman for ODOT, said the agency
had no comment. "The lawyers are taking care of it," he said.

Four other lawsuits have been filed in the case,
including two in Washington state, one in Vancouver, B.C., and one in Portland.
That latter suit also accuses ODOT of negligence.

Parks said he's been in contact with Mi Joo Tour, ODOT
and the Oregon Judicial Department in hopes of reaching a settlement but said
talks went nowhere.

"We've been working on a settlement but we didn't
get one worked out," Parks said. "This is the only way to get them a redress
for their injuries."

The lawsuit asks for a jury trial. Parks hopes
that will happen sometime next year.